Ligma joke via text message

The Ligma joke first gained popularity online in July 2018. "Ligma" sounds similar to the words "lick my", and became a sophomoric Internet meme to set up a crude joke.[1] When someone unfamiliar with the term is prompted to ask "What's ligma?", the punchline is to respond with "Ligma balls", "Ligma nuts", "Ligma butt" or something similar.[2][3][4]

"Ligma" was the fictional disease jokingly rumored to have killed the popular video game streamer Ninja in July 2018.[1][5][6]

In October 2018, fact-checking website Snopes debunked false reports that rapper Machine Gun Kelly had died from a "Ligma overdose".[7]

In July 2021, the Lead Stories fact-checking website confirmed that "Ligma" was not a new variant of the COVID-19 virus, but it was the latest version of "an old dirty joke".[2]

Derivation and bofa meme

The Verge reported in July 2018 that ligma "is the new bofa", a pun on "both of".[6] In a conversation, the speaker might set up the joke by saying, "I went to this great Italian restaurant last week, and they make great bofa", to prompt the question, "What's bofa?" to which the response is, "Bofa deez nuts!". According to Dictionary.com, if you get bofa'd, be a good sport and either shrug, laugh, or bofa someone else.[8]

Josh Kastowitz of The Daily Dot connected both ligma and bofa jokes to older crude humor with "deez nuts" (these nuts) as its punchline.[1] Brady Olson, who made a satirical 2016 presidential run under the pseudonym "Deez Nuts", confirmed to Rolling Stone that he chose it based on the bofa meme.[9]

Xbox gamertag controversy

In August 2018, Microsoft began receiving complaints about the Xbox gamertags "Ligma" and "MrsLigma" and renamed them. The owner of the "Ligma" tag told Eurogamer, "I just made the word up, anyone else can/could too! But, it's pretty uncool when Xbox/Microsoft can use any new meme to destroy a gamertag that's 12+ years old."[10] After there was a groundswell of support on reddit for the disaffected gamer, his "Ligma" tag was reinstated.[10]

Notable instances

Taliban

After the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesman fell for the joke, in an image that was widely circulated online.[11][12]

Ligma–Johnson hoax

In October 2022, two amateur improvisational actors played a media prank, pretending to be newly fired Twitter employees "Rahul Ligma" and "Daniel Johnson" on the eve of Elon Musk's takeover of the company, and multiple major media outlets reported the incident as actual news. The Times of India called the Ligma–Johnson hoax "perfectly-timed" and "one of the greatest pranks on the Internet."[13]

In a December 2022 article for TechCrunch reflecting on the absurd nature of tech industry news over the past year, Amanda Silberling commented that because "a herd of reporters did not get the joke" about Rahul Ligma, she had to explain the "ligma" meme on four different podcasts.[14]

Other variants

  • "Sugondese" (pronounced similarly to "suck on these", often in combination with "balls" or "nuts").[15]
  • "Sugma" (pronounced similarly to "suck my", most commonly in combination with "balls").[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Katzowitz, Josh (2018-07-23). "Fortnite star Ninja at the center of a death hoax involving a fake disease called Ligma". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  2. 1 2 Miller, Dean (2021-07-28). "Fact Check: There Is NO COVID 'Ligma' Variant Outbreak -- It's An Old Dirty Joke | Lead Stories". Lead Stories. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  3. ↑ "ligma Meaning | Pop Culture by Dictionary.com". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  4. ↑ Heath, Alex (2022-10-28). "People are pretending to be laid-off Twitter employees carrying boxes outside of HQ". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  5. ↑ Girn, Jasmine. "What Is "Ligma" And Why Is Everyone Talking About It - Narcity". www.narcity.com. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  6. 1 2 Hernandez, Patricia (2018-07-23). "After making up a Twitch death hoax, the Internet can't stop joking about 'Ligma'". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  7. ↑ Mikkelson, David (2018-10-15). "Machine Gun Kelly Death Hoax". Snopes. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  8. ↑ "bofa Meaning & Origin | Slang by Dictionary.com". Dictionary.com. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  9. ↑ Dickinson, Tim (August 20, 2015). "Meet 'Deez Nuts,' the Teen Presidential Candidate Punking America". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Xbox fan says ligma meme destroyed his 12-year-old gamertag". Eurogamer.net. 2018-08-25. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  11. ↑ https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/2189123-2021-taliban-offensive-in-afghanistan
  12. ↑ Kim, Eddie (2021-09-10). "A Taliban Memelord Is Winning the Hearts of the American Alt-Right". MEL Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  13. ↑ Jakhwal, Sejal (2022-11-16). "Rahul Ligma, Daniel Johnson Re-Hired, Twitter Boss Elon Musk Says Firing Them Was 'My Biggest Mistake'". web.archive.org. The India Times. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  14. ↑ Silberling, Amanda (December 24, 2022). "This year in tech felt like a simulation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
  15. ↑ "Sugondese – Meaning, Origin and Usage". English-Grammar-Lessons.com. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  16. ↑ "ligma Meaning | Pop Culture by Dictionary.com". Dictionary.com. 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
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